Deen & Deals

Assalamu alaykum! Yo, I just got back from 4 days at a sales inner game retreat with my former manager Alex Kremer, and I did not walk out the same seller I walked in as. I'm telling you, game changer. We get into speed to truth over speed to outcome, why being Mr. Nice Guy is quietly killing your deals, and how I disqualified a prospect in under a minute and handed her 29 minutes back. Plus the c...

Assalamu alaykum! This one is a gem. My guy Shafan Khan went from selling DVDs door to door before Netflix even existed to running two AI companies. We get into skipping the whole SDR grind, the sales game he learned watching his mom run a salon out the basement, and the realest take on why AI is quietly making people dumber. He even drops how he war games entire deals with AI before he ever picks...

Assalamu alaykum! Episode 30 is a real one. We went deep on something every sales rep needs to hear: if you think prospecting is beneath you, sales might not be for you. We pulled from Fanatical Prospecting, Can't Hurt Me, and honestly just real talk from the trenches. We broke down why the basics still win, how to actually know your numbers, and why AI is a tool not a replacement for the huma...

Assalamu alaykum! This episode is a real one. Ghazi Masood went from a Pakistani immigrant kid in Bellevue selling warranties at 16 to becoming CRO at Replit — one of the fastest-growing AI platforms in tech. He breaks down what it actually took to climb from rep to regional manager at 23, how he navigated 30 years of sales leadership as a visibly Muslim man in rooms where he was the only one of c...

Assalamu alaykum fam! This episode is a special one. Brother Othman Altalib went from the classic DMV immigrant path to leading 3,000+ Muslims at Google to walking away from corporate with no backup plan in Ramadan 2024. He gets real about what it looks like to climb the ladder while losing your purpose, why being at the C-suite table during the Masjid Al-Aqsa crisis still wasn't enough, and t...

Assalamu alaykum ya'll — this one's special. Mohammed finally flips the script and puts his co-host Futhallah Hamed in the hot seat. Futhallah breaks down his full origin story: selling Power Balance wristbands at 12, dreading his Deloitte job on day one, and how a WhatsApp message from a friend changed the whole trajectory. The real gem here is how Futhallah connects his deen to his drive...

Assalamu alaykum fam — yo, this episode is a different one. We sat down with Zak, Harvard econ grad, former college football player, 12 years in SaaS, and one of the most grounded Muslim sales leaders we've ever had on the show. He went from a lime green Aston Martin and a penthouse to looking in the mirror and not recognizing himself and that moment changed everything. We talked rizq, Ramadan...

Assalamu alaykum! This one is special. Episode 25 is Mohammed's origin story, and Futhallah is pulling it ALL out. We're talking about a Palestinian immigrant dad who slept on the NYC subway to save money, built a 35-year barbershop empire in Seattle, and raised Mohammed in that shop shaking hands with CEOs before he could even cut hair. Mohammed took over the business at 19 after his dad...

Assalamu alaykum fam! Futhallah just became a dad — MashAllah — and we're kicking off this episode celebrating that before diving straight into the real talk. This week we're breaking down why Futhallah is literally the hardest person to sell to, and what that means for YOU as a seller. We get into how buyers actually make decisions, why ROI clarity is everything, and what separates a sell...

Assalamu alaykum fam! This episode is PACKED. We sat down with Troy Munson, CEO of Demo, LinkedIn content creator, and food TikToker, and this man got REAL with us. We're talking about leaving a job where the stock went from $80 to $500 (yeah, do that math), the LinkedIn poll hack that books meetings on autopilot, and why he's considering leaving entrepreneurship to go back to selling. Troy also d...

As Ramadan comes to a close, we get real about brotherhood, friendship, and family ties. Why does brotherhood peak in Ramadan and fade after? What separates a true brother from an acquaintance? We break down the levels of friendship, how to stop making excuses for lost connections, and why a 90-second voice note can mean more than a generic broadcast message. Mohammed also shares a powerful story...

Ramadan Blues are hitting hard — but the last 10 nights are almost here. In this episode, we check in on our Ramadan fatigue, talk about the power of community (and how it doesn't build itself), and get real about phone addiction, social media scrolling, and how AI is making everything faster — but maybe not better. Plus: Masjid Hopping Thursdays, the string test for attention, and our challen...

We hit our goal of getting to 20 podcast episodes! Tune in to listen to our updates about the podcast, as well as our Ramadan check-in and more about OpenAI mass surveillance. Time Stamps:00:00 Day 11 Check In00:29 Where Have We Been01:21 Podcast Milestone Reflections03:23 Ramadan Midpoint Fatigue05:37 Coffee Hacks And Dean Fuels07:03 Caffeine Pills And Ecom Tricks10:11 Coffee History And AI Paral...

In this episode we talk about Tanveer’s journey from shoveling snow door-to-door at 11 years old to becoming CRO at Untap Your Sales Potential. He shares what it really felt like to hit 415% of quota at Salesforce… and why that success still left him empty. We unpack burnout, panic attacks, pressure, and the hidden vices many sellers never talk about. Tanveer opens up about rediscovering his faith...

At 39 years old, Mike Sullivan was unemployed, $80K in debt, and hiding personal loans from his wife. That desperation forced his transformation. In this episode, we unpack how Mike went from used car sales and call reluctance… to becoming a top enterprise seller at TriNetX. We talk about: Why you don’t need rock bottom — but adversity can be fuel How to control the controllables in sales Identity...

Assalamu Alaykum! In this episode of the Deen & Deals Podcast, we sit down with Wai Yan Htun, founder of XO Halal. Wai Yan shares his unconventional journey — growing up in Myanmar, dropping out of university twice, building startups across Asia, and eventually moving to the U.S. for marriage and starting over from scratch. We talk about how a simple problem — finding trustworthy halal snacks...

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: https://deenndeals.com/ Assalamu Alaykum! In this episode of the Deen & Deals Podcast, we sit down with Tyler Crosson, enterprise sales leader and former Army cavalry scout. Tyler breaks down what it means to perform under pressure, how role-playing and preparation translate into winning big enterprise deals, and why the hardest part of enterprise sales is s...

Assalamu Alaykum – in this episode we talk about what would really change if a $350K commission check hit on a Friday, and why the money isn’t the main point. We break down what separates the reps who get lucky once from the reps who stay consistent year after year: identity, discipline, and doing the daily inputs you don’t want to do. We reflect on the Ian Koniak + Mike Sullivan episode, talk fit...

In this episode we talk about Salman’s journey from growing up in Canada with a single mom grinding multiple minimum-wage jobs, to starting sales at 13 doing door-to-door, to breaking into IBM as an SDR in 2006 and navigating two recessions. He shares what it was like being visibly Muslim in a white-dominated sales world, why staying true to your values is not just possible but a real advantage, a...

Sales tactics are everywhere. Authentic connection is rare. In this episode of Deen & Deals, Mohammed Kiswani and Futhallah Hamed sit down with Alex Kremer to talk about the inner game of sales, leadership, faith, and why being human is your biggest advantage in modern selling. If you’ve ever felt burned out, disconnected, or tired of fake sales energy — this one’s for you.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: https://deenndeals.com/ Assalamu Alaykum! In this first recording of 2026, Mohammed and Futhallah kick off the year with a real catch-up episode on intentions, consistency, and what it takes to build momentum without burning out. They reflect on 2025 lessons, the importance of family time, how movement impacts productivity, and why the key to a strong 2026 is fo...

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: https://deenndeals.com/ Assalamu Alaykum! In this episode of the Deen & Deals Podcast, we sit down with Asheq — entrepreneur, former lawyer, and leader behind the Miraj Collective. Asheq shares his journey from an immigrant upbringing to law, corporate leadership, entrepreneurship, and eventually exiting a business — and why “making it” didn’t feel the way h...

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: https://deenndeals.substack.com/ Assalamu Alaykum! In this episode of the Deen & Deals Podcast, we sit down with William Padilla, mid-market AE at Aspire and content creator behind Sell That SaaS. Will shares his journey from digital journalism to sales and content creation, why authenticity matters more than chasing trends, and how sharing just a few “chapt...

Assalamu Alaykum guys - in this episode we talk about what to do if you get laid off: how to reset mentally, stay humble and keep income flowing, build a smart emergency fund, and then run a sales-style job hunt using tiers (your close network, a strategic LinkedIn post, warm intros into target companies, and only then mass applying) so you can bounce back faster and land something even better. Ti...

Salam everyone! In this episode of Deen & Deals, we dive into a conversation that hits close to home: identity, confidence, and showing up as your full self—especially as a Muslim navigating the modern workplace. We share personal stories about growing into our identities, from refusing to shorten our names to learning how to confidently advocate for prayer, Ramadan accommodations, and faith-b...